“La Migra” helps immigrant go from $4 an hour to $1,000 a day. Mexican immigrant, Hermenegildo Martínez came to the United States at age 12 with aspirations to make it big in the states.

Twenty years ago he lived in poverty and saw how many of his friends crossed the border and succeeded economically.

Tough immigration policies demanded that the company he worked for for twenty years formalize their business. Formalizing allowed contractors to work for them. Martínez is thankful for the opportunity. He now makes what he would make in a month in just one day.

At age 12, he crossed the Rio Grande with other children his age. Staying out of sight from immigration officers and faced with many dangers, Martínez says it was all “worth it.”

He traveled to Houston. In Dallas, he worked as a gardener earning $4 an hour. At the time, $4 an hour was a lot of money. So he thought. “That was a lot of money when exchanged into pesos,” he recalls.

Crisis took him to a better place

After the company he worked for shut down, Martínez had to seek employment with USA Trucks. He got an increase in salary. His pay check more than $1,000 a week.

Traveling through 48 states and Canada became tiring for Martínez. He decided to move to Georgia and became a plumber.

“Immigration” impulsed him

In 1998, he became an independent worker and subcontracted at North West Plumbing.

“And just like that I grew and formalized my company. I didn’t have money to invest. Nothing was impossible. I started the company with a shovel, my hands and a “talache.” Shortly after, I purchased a truck and more tools.”

Martínez now has three trucks and 12 contracts working on water and drainage. His life has changed for the better. His company, Medey’s Construction, is expanding and he is helping bring more of his family members into the U.S. “Now I have plenty of work. I can be as big as I want. Everything is possible. You just have to learn a little. With that little, you can do a lot,” he said.